Taman Negara Endau-Rompin

The perfect beginning

After months of inactivity due to the Movement Control Order (MCO), I jumped at the chance to go camping at Endau-Rompin National Park when Nisha first proposed the idea.

The 3D2N trip would include treks to two waterfalls (Upih Guling & Buaya Sangkut) and a lake (Tasik Air Biru). It would also include a night walk and a blowpipe demonstration.

I brought along my 14-year-old niece, Damia, so that she could partake in the activities and broaden her horizon.

The four of us (Nisha, Faizal, Damia & I) left for Kahang, Johor on Dec 30, 2020. We decided to depart one day earlier so as to not be in a rush the day after. We spent the night at a homestay and met our fellow team members there: Azrah, Ain & Akmal.

The next day (Dec 31, 2020) we all gathered at the meet-up point, at 9.00 AM. We met the rest of the 12-person group (Amizam, Lukman, Kak Wan, Anas & Abang Mus) and were introduced to our guide, Lop.

We parked our cars at Kahang and rode 4WDs to Kampung Orang Asli Peta (situated in the Endau-Rompin National Park). The 1.5-hour journey was bumpy and as usual, I got carsick.

Thankfully, before it got really bad, we arrived at our destination. We had lunch before boarding a boat to take us to our campsite, at Kuala Jasin. After 20 minutes, we arrived at Kuala Jasin. The campsite was clean and well-kept. It has a dining hall, toilets, shower rooms, a multi-purpose hall, a surau and several chalets. We didn’t stay at the chalets though. The guys chose to sleep at the dining hall while the girls chose to occupy the multi-purpose hall.

After a quick rest, we reassembled to go on our first hike. It was an easy hike to Tasik Air Biru which took around 1 hour. Nisha and Damia weren’t used to the leeches so the hike was punctuated by their cries of alarm whenever they sensed one crawling on their skin. Another eventful thing that happened was, a snake about 1.5 metres long crossed my path. It slithered quickly to get to the other side of the trail which made me jump back in surprise + terror. When I described the snake to Tok (another guide who accompanied Lop), he said that it might have been an Ular Tedung.

But all was forgotten when we arrived at Tasik Air Biru. It’s a small, beautiful lake with unreal greenish blue colour. Some of us swam in the lake and tried to catch some fish. Others chose a spot to dip their toes while soaking in the scenery. Basically, it was a nearly perfect first day.

Things started going south

That night, after dinner, it started to rain. It rained heavily with no respite. Azrah said it succinctly: “Malam tadi, hujan lebat atau extra lebat”. We woke up the next morning (Jan 1, 2021), knowing that, that day’s hike would be scrapped. There’s no way we could hike in such bad weather. Plus, to get to the waterfalls, we would need to do two river-crossings. Since the water level had risen considerably, crossing those rivers had become an impossibility.

The river we had crossed the day before

So we spent the whole day watching the rain and hoping that it would stop soon. It never did. I got so bored that I began to diligently pick off kemuncup from my trousers HAHA.

Meanwhile the river had burst its bank and it was scary to see how the water kept on rising steadily. The river current became stronger and, to me, it started to resemble the treacherous sea. It looked nothing like the calm river which we traversed only a day ago.

The next day (Jan 2, 2021), we decided to risk it and try to leave Kuala Jasin for Kg. Peta. Our food was running out and we were isolated from everyone. The river looked less scary than the day before but still many of us were apprehensive about boarding the boat. To make it safer, the boatman would only transport six of us at one time (instead of filling his boat to capacity). So we were divided into two groups. Damia and I were assigned to be in the first group. We put on our life jackets and recited our duas in earnest.

Alhamdulillah, we made it safely to Kg. Peta. So did the second group. There was a palpable sense of relief once we sighted them making their way to the house we would be staying at for the next few days.

The bad news was: there’s no running water and phone signal. Both the water pipes and the telco tower were damaged in the bad weather.

We were supposed to be back home that night, so we were worried that our families would be anxiously waiting for our return. We couldn’t head back as the only road to the nearest town was flooded. We were effectively stranded at Kg. Peta indefinitely.

That night, Akmal & Anas went to the police station to ask for their help to contact our family members. My brother (Damia’s father) received the call in the middle of the night and informed the rest of the family. Needless to say, our families back home were worried sick.

Blursdays

The next few days were indistinguishable from one another. Our anchors were mealtimes (breakfast, lunch & dinner). We needed to be careful with our dwindling food supply so most of the time we ate nasi goreng ikan masin or bihun goreng or maggi goreng (you get the drift). Eggs and sardines became rare luxuries.

However, we did get to eat ikan sungai one day. Abang Mus helped Lop install some fishing nets and the next day, we feasted on some freshwater fish fried to perfection.

We also raided all the sundry shops in Kg. Peta to boost our supplies. Although most of the essential items had run out, we did manage to get some things. We also stocked up on kuaci, Twisties and Super Ring. They became our comfort food which we consumed alongside gallons of coffee.

On Jan 3, 2021, the telco tower was repaired and we could finally call home. It was a huge relief to be able to talk to our loved ones. Once signal is restored, our other routine is to go to this spot we named ‘Cyber Cafe’ because it’s the only place we could get an internet connection. We would spend around 1-2 hours there replying messages and updating ourselves with the latest news.

The water supply was restored the next day (Jan 4, 2021). There was a collective cheer when we turned on the tap. We finally got to shower after four days. Prior to that, our limited water reserve (there’s some in the tank and we had to collect the rainwater) was prioritised for drinking, cooking and washing-up.

Back at our homestay, we put away our phones and whiled the time away talking to one another. Our conversations oscillated between serious and light-hearted; deep and shallow. We talked about our jobs, our previous travel experiences and our families. Nisha turned out to be a talented storyteller. She had us riveted when she recounted the story lines from the movies/TV shows she had seen: Hereditary, Midsommar, The Ritual, The Climb, The Babadook and Mr. Queen.

We also played card games to pass the time

We called Nisha the penglipur lara. Anas said it best when he wrote: “semua memainkan peranan..storyteller ada, wikipedia ada, chef ada, pelawak ada, jurucakap ada..senang cita macam2 ada”. So yeah, we started off as strangers but after being stranded together, we became a tight-knit group. Our shared wavelength coupled with our complementary skill sets made the days pass by rather harmoniously. Yes, we were very anxious to get home but if we were destined to be stranded for close to one week, then there’s no better set of people to be stranded with.

The journey home

 

The water level at Kg. Peta had receded dramatically but we were told that other parts of the state were still inundated. So we were still stuck here. The maddening thing was the uncertainty. We didn’t know for how much longer we needed to wait. The estimates given by the villagers varied from three days to one week to one month (!).

Finally, on Jan 5, 2021, the surveyors (another group who was also stranded in Kg. Peta) decided to try and venture out. The five guys from our group joined them. So did a few members of the Taman Negara staff. They all took off in two 4x4 vehicles and brought along equipment such as chainsaws and hoes. They cleared the fallen branches blocking the roads and navigated the mudslides to get to Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Peroh. Their land journey stopped there because the road from Kg. Sungai Peroh to Kahang was completely submerged.

The seven girls left behind, followed suit after we received the call that the road had been cleared. We mounted the last 4x4 vehicle left in Kg. Peta and made our way to Sg. Peroh. The journey took 1.5 hours and along the way, we could see the devastation caused by the floods.

Once we arrived at Sg. Peroh, we took a boat to reach Kahang. Before boarding the boat, we were asked to wear a face mask and to record down our temperatures. We had completely forgotten about the Covid-19 situation since the floods began. Ironically, following the SOPs felt like a return to normalcy. 

The boat ride took 20 minutes and it was surreal to see huge swathes of land inundated by water. It was hard to gauge how deep the water was. At one point, we were level with the top of some oil palm trees. Our guide estimated that the water was around 3-4 metres high.

We finally reached Kahang and were reunited with our other group members. We collected our parked cars (thankfully they were not damaged by the floods) and after a brief stop at Balai Polis Kahang, we headed towards Kluang. There was a major incident there a few days ago so we were rerouted from the main road.

Before we each went our separate ways, we had a late lunch (or early dinner?) at Kluang Rail Coffee. Everyone was in a good mood and couldn’t wait to go back home. We said our goodbyes and promised to share pictures and perhaps meet-up later for a reunion.

 

Coda

Being in the midst of a major natural disaster is supposed to be harrowing. But looking back, it was one of the most memorable trips I’d ever been on. I have to reiterate this again: these 11 people are the best people to be stuck with for close to one week.

Would I go again? Yes! As I still hadn’t seen the beautiful Buaya Sangkut waterfall. Taman Negara Endau-Rompin, I’ll be seeing you again insha’Allah :)